Change
by JeGarr
Summary: His Morgana is gone and he isn't sure if she'll ever find herself again. Prompt challenge. Some dialogue taken directly from 3.01.


When he arrives he can feel the awkwardness in the air. Having not seen her in nearly a year and having searched high and low for her throughout that time, he is unsure what to do. For a while he simply stands outside her door, his fist resting against the wood of her door, but not yet raising his knuckles to knock.

When he finally does however, a weak greeting breaks the heavy silence and he takes the cue to step inside.

He closes the door behind him softly and quietly approaches her bed. She is clutching the corner of her blanket, her eyes wide and staring blankly at the wall across from her bed.

Deciding to lighten the mood, he carefully edges onto the side of her bed, his fingers enclosing around her hips and digging into her ribs softly. She jerks violently away from him and lets out a gasp at the contact, laughing at the sudden attack. He quickly drops his fingers, both meeting each other's gaze and letting out giggles.

"Arthur!" she gasped, "I could have died from shock!"

He chuckled at her outraged expression, "It's a good thing nobody ever died of laughter."

He grinned at her as she smiled shyly at him, her fingers fisting around her bed sheets and pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Very suddenly, he can feel the mood change, the seriousness returns to the air and makes him uncomfortable. He is at loss of what to say, so he sits and waits until one of them decides to open their mouth. It isn't long before Morgana decides to speak and he cannot help but feel momentarily relieved.

"I was kept in a cell for almost a year. I thought I'd go mad."

With his eyes turned away from hers, Arthur nods. He swallows, his hands twisting and untwisting in his lap. This was the first time she had opened up to anybody about her ordeal. It was the first time she was finally voicing what the hell had gone on for the past year. It was the first time she had really spoken to him for what had seemed like forever and it was as if she wasn't even there speaking with him at all.

"How did you escape?"

His question made her sigh, her fingers clenching and unclenching the blanket she clutched tightly in her hands. Her mouth fell open and she was telling him _everything. _He commented when necessary and asked for further information, but at the same time he sat and listened and thought and pondered.

Then he was reaching for her and she was hugging him. Her face buried into the crook of his neck. Yet still he was thinking. Something had changed. He could feel it. There was a distance between them, even as they held each other. The air between them was tighter than before; they were not what they used to be. They were no longer the almost siblings who would do anything for each other. As she held onto him it was almost as if she was saying goodbye.

It was that moment he knew the days of closeness were over.

But still, his arms wrap themselves around her, his hand resting on her shoulder. After a while he spots Merlin and takes it as his cue to leave, his servant watching the exchange with critical eyes. Arthur thinks maybe he can feel the change too.

"Everything's gonna be alright," he assures, "You're safe now."

She offers him a smile and he stands, walking out the door and down the corridor, his footsteps falling silent to his own ears.

There is no Morgana in his life anymore.

She is someone new, a stranger. A year apart has cause damage to their relationship. In some way, he feels as though she has died because they just _don't feel right. _They are both pieces of a puzzle that refuse to fit anymore, both two different substances that refuse to mix.

It was almost as if she was hiding herself behind that blanket, not wanting to let anyone in, not wanting anyone to see who she has become. He isn't sure what she is, but she has changed, for better or for worse.

His Morgana is gone and he isn't sure if she'll ever find herself again.

* * *

Random prompts challenge from s i l v e r a u r o r a on the Merlin Fanfic Challenges Thread. Tried my best.


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